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In a Feb. 4 letter addressed to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Ken Calvert argue that the Air Force launch procurement plan creates an unfair playing field.
WASHINGTON Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) are calling for an independent review of the Air Forces space launch procurement strategy. They contend that the Air Force, in an effort to broaden the launch playing field, is putting SpaceX at a competitive disadvantage.

In a Feb. 4 letter addressed to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Feinstein and Calvert both with strong ties to the space industry argue that the path the Air Force has chosen to select future launch providers creates an unfair playing field. Although SpaceX is not mentioned in the letter by name, it is clear from the lawmakers language that they believe the company is getting a raw deal because, unlike its major competitors, it did not receive Air Force funding to modify its commercial rockets so they meet national security mission requirements.
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SpaceX is gearing up for the first commercial launch of its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket as soon as early April with a communications satellite for Arabsat, and the U.S. Air Force hopes the two side boosters from the Arabsat mission can be safely landed and reused for the military’s first Falcon Heavy mission this summer, an exercise officials said will help certify previously-flown hardware for future national security launches.

A Rochester-area engineer is facing charges, accused of falsifying inspection reports for space parts purchased by Space X for its spaceships.

Prosecutors say the suspect, James Smalley of Penn Yan, worked as a quality assurance engineer for PMI Industries in Gates, which provided machining services for "flight critical aerospace parts." PMI provided parts for Space X including for the company's Falcon launch family along with other Department of Defense contractors.
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Prosecutors say Smalley faked at least 38 source inspection reports.

In court documents, prosecutors say Smalley admitted to copying the signatures of other inspectors onto reports. When asked why he did it, Smalley said he wanted to "ship ore product for the company."

After the faked inspections were uncovered, SpaceX ended its relationship with PMI, which put the company out of business.

SpaceX found seven NASA missions, two Air Force missions, and one NOAA flight mission were impacted by the parts.